9.2 Monitoring Cluster and Resource States

The Cluster Manager link in iManager gives you important information about the status of servers and resources in your cluster.

In iManager, click Cluster, then click Cluster Manager.

Type the name of the desired cluster, or browse to locate and select the Cluster object.

A list of resources and resource states displays.

The master server in the cluster is identified by a yellow diamond in the middle of the server icon (). The master server is initially the first server in the cluster, but another server can become the master if the first server fails.

Cluster servers and resources display the following icons for the different operating states:

Table 9-1 Cluster Operating States

State

Icon

Description

Normal

A green ball indicates that the server or resource is online or running.

Stopped

A red ball with a horizontal white line indicates that the node is stopped.

Offline

A white ball with a horizontal red line indicates that the node is offline.

Critical

A white ball with a red X indicates that the node has failed or is comatose.

Warning

A white ball with a yellow diamond indicates that an alert condition has occurred, and the resource needs administrator attention.

Unknown

A yellow ball with a question mark indicates that the state of the node is unknown.

When a resource is red, it is waiting for administrator intervention. When a resource is gray with no break in the icon, either that server is not currently a member of the cluster or its state is unknown. When a resource is blank or has no colored icon, it is unassigned, offline, changing state, or in the process of loading or unloading.

The Epoch number indicates the number of times the cluster state has changed. The cluster state changes every time a server joins or leaves the cluster.

Table 9-2 identifies the different resource states and gives descriptions and possible actions for each state.

Table 9-2 Cluster Resource States

Resource State

Description

Possible Actions

Alert

Alert types are:

Failback Alert

Failover Alert

Start Alert

Alerts can result if the Start mode, Failover mode, or Failback mode for the resource has been set to Manual. The resource is waiting for the administrator to intervene to start, fail over, or fail back the resource on the specified server.

On the Cluster Manager page in Novell iManager, click the Respond to Alert option to resolve the alert. Depending on the resource state, you are prompted to start, fail over, or fail back the resource.

If you attempt to offline a resource that is in the Start Alert state, nothing happens and the following message is displayed:

This operation cannot be completed. It is only available when the resource is in an offline state.

You must clear the Start Alert before you can offline the resource. After the resource is offline, you can online the resource.

Comatose

The resource is not running properly and requires administrator intervention.

Click the Comatose status indicator and bring the resource offline. After resource problems have been resolved, the resource can be brought back online (returned to the running state).

Loading

The resource is in the process of loading on a server.

None.

NDS_Sync

The properties of the resource have changed and the changes are still being synchronized in Novell eDirectory.

None.

Offline

Offline status indicates the resource is shut down or is in a dormant or inactive state.

Click the Offline status indicator and, if desired, click the Online button to load the resource on the best node possible, given the current state of the cluster and the resource's preferred nodes list.

Quorum Wait

The resource is waiting for the quorum to be established so it can begin loading.

None.

Running

The resource is in a normal running state.

Click the Running status indicator and choose to either migrate the resource to a different server in your cluster or unload (bring offline) the resource.

Unassigned

There isn't an assigned node available that the resource can be loaded on.

Click the Unassigned status indicator and, if desired, offline the resource. Offlining the resource prevents it from running on any of its preferred nodes if any of them join the cluster.

Unloading

The resource is in the process of unloading from the server it was running on.